Stay With Me
by Zully Quirke
Summary: Naruto won't let Sasuke break their bond, no matter how much Sasuke might want him to. Slightly AU, spoilers for episodes 130ish.


Title: Stay With Me  
Author: Zully Quirke  
Rating: PG  
Pairing: NaruSasu  
Author's Note: Er. Well, this was _going_ to be a drabble, but it seems to have gotten a lot longer. cough I think it's impossible for me to write short fics. D: Ah well. This is based on agent420's art "Stay." I haven't written Naruto and Sasuke for years, but her art got them banging at my brains until I finally agreed to write them this morning. Slightly AU, definite spoilers for episodes 130ish.

He had never been any good at goodbyes. Any he'd ever uttered had been quickly followed by a promise to see them again sometime. Even if it never happened, it felt better knowing that he could. He wasn't cut off from them forever. They were still there, even if they were far away.

This felt like goodbye. He hated it. Nothing was working, nothing was-- why wasn't it _working_? He couldn't lose him, not now. They were the same, linked since childhood, no one could break that. Not even Sasuke, even if he kept saying that he wanted to. Naruto wouldn't let him let go. He was wild and desperate inside; Sasuke had told him he was his most important friend. How the hell could he make a confession like that and then say... ?

Snarling, Naruto dove at him. "You are _not_ leaving!" And much to his surprise, Sasuke didn't move. Before he knew what had happened he'd landed on top of Sasuke, pinning him to the ground and a hand reflexively reaching forward to soften the blow of Sasuke's head against rock.

-

_Even now he's trying to protect me. Idiot,_ Came the internal snort. Naruto couldn't protect him. He couldn't save him. He was too late. It was too late to say things like they were best friends, too late for Naruto to promise anything. What's worse was the idiot probably meant it. He probably thought he could save him, probably thought he could just follow until Sasuke got tired and caved. What he never realized was that Sasuke had done that long ago.

He'd taken to his ritual daily as a child; sitting on the dock where his father had said those words to him. His father who'd finally started to love him, whose adoration he'd wanted for as long as he could remember. They closed down the Uchiha village after too long, and Sasuke was forced to move his brooding to a neighboring pier. It outstretched over the same lake, and if he squinted hard enough he could almost see where his pier was supposed to be. Himself standing at the end of it, his father smiling behind him. At him.

Sasuke clenched at the wood on the pier, teeth grinding together. He hated his brother. He hated him like he'd never hated or loved anything in his short life. He'd taken everything from him. Home, parents, love, even himself. His older brother had been his idol; he'd looked up to him, wanted to _be_ him. But he'd betrayed that.

But before he could ever work himself into a proper fit, that idiot would walk down the road. Didn't he have anywhere better to be? When he didn't think Sasuke was looking, his face was so much different than it usually was. The typical raspberry was replaced by a curious expression. One that was almost... hopeful?

He would make sure Naruto knew he was looking before he could see much more of that face. He didn't want things to change. He'd had enough of that; he and Naruto constantly bickering made him feel like a kid again. He couldn't stand it if he got pity from Naruto's eyes. Everyone else he expected it from, but Naruto was the only one who didn't treat him like he was made of glass. He supposed in some sick way, Naruto was all he had left tying him to reality.

Naruto pulled a face at Sasuke, but it seemed halfhearted. This time he almost stopped, face wavering as he looked down at Sasuke sitting alone at the end of the pier. He seemed to make some internal decision, shaking his head and moving forward. It had only been a split second, but his eyes had changed. They'd looked far too old for someone his age. The eyes of someone who knew what being completely alone really felt line.

And really, he hadn't needed to stop that day. Everything he'd wanted to say had been said with that one look. Sasuke wasn't quite as alone as he thought he was, and in that moment he realized that. There was one constant in his life, and it was a loud-mouthed idiot named Naruto. He and Naruto were alone together, and for some reason the world felt a little less cold for it.

-

"Why?" He heard Sasuke ask after a long silence. Naruto was still pinning him to the ground, one hand still cradled underneath the back of his skull. It would have been so easy to crush it, Naruto knew. In this position, like this, it was possible Sasuke was fast enough to move before permanent damage was done. But the added fact that he was pinned to the ground.. even Naruto was bright enough to realize what a vulnerable position Sasuke had put himself in. Purposely.

Naruto blinked. "What? Why what? Isn't that supposed to be my line?"

Sasuke turned his head, eyes narrowing as he glared at nothing in particular. "Why are you doing _this_ idiot? Just let me go." He sounded tired. Circles formed thickly underneath his eyes, tension bled from his body in an exhausted wave.

"Hell no!" Nartuo snarled, nostrils flaring. "I promised I was going to bring you back, and I am! You need to come home, and that's that! I'm not giving up!"

Something in Sasuke rippled at that, and it happened too fast for Naruto to figure out what it had been. Something about what he'd said had made Sasuke's entire face change completely, and not all of the change had been good.

"Is that why?" Sasuke mouthed. "You promised someone you'd bring me back. Is that why?"

Naruto hesitated. It was true enough that he'd promised Sakura he'd come back with Sasuke in tow; that had been his outward reason for going. Plus the fact that he was his teammate. Teammates stuck together through everything, and sometimes they needed some sense beat into them. Sasuke had done it for him plenty of times.

His snarl melted, a small smile tugging at the corner of his lips. "How should I know? My body just moved on it's own."

Sasuke's eyes widned at those too familiar words. Naruto knew what they meant now, what they'd meant to him then. Above all else, they were connected. On so many different levels they were connected. When Naruto had almost died, Haku's needles aiming for him in so many lethal spots, Sasuke hadn't even had time to think. He knew he couldn't have deflected one or two, but if it was his body instead of Naruto's... Naruto wouldn't die.

That had been so important to him. So, so important. Is that how Naruto felt now?

He took advantage of the laxness in Naruto's body to slip out from underneath him, standing his full height with a hand burrowed inside one pocket. He'd planned a cool, even speech for Naruto here. He'd tell him, and Naruto would finally give up on him. He'd let him go, and things would be as they were supposed to be. He wouldn't have any other troublesome ties to this other life of his. It would be so easy to go to Orochimaru, to get this power to defeat his brother if he didn't have to worry about Naruto too. If he could cut the last thing that grounded him to the person he thought he could be, but couldn't.

But he never had a chance to recite his cool speech. Naruto was behind him, and before Sasuke could figure out just what the idiot had in mind, he was... being hugged.

Hugged?

The tension immediately returned to Sasuke's body, stiffening as long arms wrapped around his shoulders, his neck, clasping and clenching in a way that in no way life threatening. Not physically, anyway. Sakura had done this, though it had been weaker in just about every way imagineable. Sakura didn't know him, so Sasuke didn't care about her. She couldn't scratch the surface. But Naruto--

"What are you--"

"Stay with me," Naruto's voice was hoarse. Those words had cost him, and they both knew it. "Please, Sasuke. Just stay with me."

_Don't leave me alone._

It hung unspoken in the air between them, that one sentance that had been in their heads even when they hadn't wanted to admit it. If Sasuke left, if Sasuke cut that last bond, it meant cutting Naruto too.

"There's Sakura," Sasuke managed tightly. "Iruka. Lee. Neji."

"And none of them are you."

Something inside Sasuke's chest swirled desperately at that, and tendrils of hope threatened to crawl out of him and wrap around Naruto. He wanted so badly to lean in and trust those words, to trust that Sasuke would be missed because he was Sasuke. And if anyone was to miss him, he conceeded, it would be Naruto. Naruto was one of the only people who knew who he was.

"Idiot," He ground out. "Don't you get it? I can't stay. Not now. Not after--"

Even if he considered staying -- which he wasn't! -- there was no way they'd let him come back. Not after everything he'd done, everything he'd said. Kakashi especially.

"Who's the idiot?" Naruto demanded, arms still tight around Sasuke's shoulders. "You're the one trying to leave, after everything! You're... Sasuke, you and me, we're..."

Sasuke could feel the hot blush against the back of his neck before he felt his own rise to pinken his cheeks. They'd never talked about that part of their bond; they'd barely acknowledged how close it was on a pure friendship/teammate level. He could _not_ give into this, he could _not_ let this happen! He couldn't let himself think about this, because if he did--

But Naruto's scent was there, grounding him like it always had. He felt the fight leaving him before he could gather up the humiliation to be enraged again. His scent musky, tinged with salt and the very distinct flavor of ramen. So it was true; the man did eat enough to sweat it from his pores.

And that was the last thought Sasuke had. There was a blur from the bushes, and before either man could react Sasuke was laying unconcious in Naruto's arm, a large welt rising from underneath matted black hair.

Kakashi was crouched beside Naruto, who'd turned to look wildly at their would-be assailant, a kunai in his head and stance immediately defensive.

For a moment, Kakashi's eyes narrowed as he appraised the two. They were so alike the legendary three he was surprised no one else had noticed by now. Naruto so fiercely protective of his teammates, Sasuke so easily tempted by the promise of quick power, Sakura desperate to keep everyone together.

The main difference, of course, being that Orochimaru and Jiraya had never had a dynamic quite like this. Their connection had never been this strong. And, of course, the sexual tension between the two had been blessedly non existant.

Kakashi's smile returned, even if it was a bit less enthusiastic than usual. "I'm sorry, Naruto," He said, face unwavering. "You've had a rough time of it." He leaned forward. "Let's go back, okay?"

Naruto moved protectively over Sasuke again. "I'll carry him," He ground out, standing and struggling a bit with the man's weight. He had a thick, dangerous cut running down the length of his leg that was tinting his orange pants red.

But Kakashi nodded in acknowledgement and stood, wiping a bit of hair from his face as he inclined his head as Naruto turned back towards him, Sasuke draped over his shoulder.

"Let's go home."


End file.
